


Prelude: Rebirth

by UnderdarkFox



Series: No Rest for the Wicked [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Animatronic Creation, Good luck getting me to ever update anything, Humanoid Animatronics, I doubt I edited this properly, I'm too tired to care either, Nothing bad happens yet, Other, This is just a pre-story for some worldbuilding later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 10:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11056935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderdarkFox/pseuds/UnderdarkFox
Summary: Pre-story to some worldbuilding I may or may not be bothered with later.We, the audience, are given a new animatronic pal to follow along as shit gets really bad.





	Prelude: Rebirth

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I did consider writing more to this before posting, but I am terrible at getting rid of writers block so I'm opting for smaller chunks going along. This could be considered a stupid one off that has no actual plot, or part of a larger series that will probably take me a lifetime to write according to my current motivation levels.

[ALL SYSTEMS OFFLINE]

[VIDEO systems restored. AUDIO systems restored.]

The creation jerked on the table as it’s systems flared to life. If not for every other animatronic doing the same thing, their creator might have been startled. Instead, the near-seizure episodes they went through were now just part of the routine. Then would be… ah yes… The errors would be thrown in panic, randomly spitting out any error code despite nothing being wrong.

“You don’t need to breathe, my child, relax. I am right here next to you.” The creature laying on the table relaxed, the errors being thrown less frantically until it was calmed down. They were always so compliant. Maybe it was their child-like minds combined with a high level of artificial intelligence, or perhaps calling them his children left them with a sense of kinship with their creator. Regardless, the newborn patiently laid flat on it’s back, unmoving and silent, now that it’s little episode was over.

“Open your eyes and look around. We need to make sure everything is working for you.” In response, the animatronic creature opened its eyes slowly, blinking a few times even though it wasn't necessary. It took in the view of the room around it, alternating between rotating it’s head and eyes. Finally it settled on staring at the man next to it, gradually letting the video feed adjust into a clearer picture. The man was staring into the monitor, making adjustments until his creation could see in full color, with as much detail as its system would allow. Normally they would continue to look around, letting him adjust as they went, but this one was fixated on him instead. It only made him smile and turn to face his new project.

“Well hello there! Everything coming in clearly for you now?”

[Yes.] The letters flashed on the program. Rather than test its ability to speak, the creation chose to interact with the basic programming on the terminal instead. Basic, but effective.

“Good! Nothing too scary or jarring?”

[No.]

“Remember anything from before?” A long pause as the creature on the table searched through its memory banks for anything. They were all clear, waiting for information to be written to them.

[No.]

“Perfect. We’ll have to give you a name, and then you can help me. Would you like that?” Another moment as the animatronic searched for any current task programmed into its system. Again, nothing came up.

[Yes.]

“Such a good child. We’ll get you up to speed and you can join your brothers and sisters when we’re done.” The creator smiled proudly, stroking the synthetic skin of his creation. It couldn’t feel it of course, but the gesture was appreciated regardless. “I am your father, so you can call me that if you’d like.”

[Father.]

“You learn quickly! This is excellent,” Father went back to the monitor, enabling a few more systems before looking back at the table, “You can move around now. I’ll give you free roam to start, but don’t go too far. We still need to make sure you are fully functional, then get you dressed.”

Cautiously, the animatronic sat up. It didn’t seem concerned about wandering around right away, and instead chose to look down at its own arms and legs. Self studying was often a good sign for the robotics, at least to Father. It gave them a unique sense of awareness that couldn’t be programmed, and led to better performance overall.

It was a pale, creamy grey from what it could tell. The synthetic skin being colored to match the rest of it’s future costume, and the design choice gave it a rather appealing look for children. It had stripes down its arms and legs, and possibly its chest if not for the fact that the front panel was missing. Its eyes followed the cords running from its chest back to the computer its father was working on. That was normal, apparently, so it didn’t seem bothered by the appearance of wires and metal sticking out of it. Father wasn't bothered at least, so it took the cue from him, and went back to checking out the striped pattern going down its arms and legs. It even found the alternating colors on the top and bottom of its hands interesting. Darker on the palm, as if padded, but cream on the fingers and back.

[Hands grey. Black stripes. I am soft?]

“Yes, the children will love you! I’d get used to the idea of them wanting to pet you.” Father laughed quietly, still watching the monitor as he continued running diagnostics, but he was smiling at least.

[Children? Like me?] The animatronic tilted its head curiously. Father had called it a child, after all. It seemed almost eager to meet others like it.

“No, human children. You’ll love them, and they will love you in return. You’ll see.” Father gave his creation a gentle smile, patting him on the leg before returning to his work. The animatronic tilted its head the other way, but didn’t ask any further questions. Eventually staring at its creator no longer held its attention, and it went back to staring at itself. Satisfied with its own body, it slowly moved its legs to hang over the side of the table. It seemed alright, so it pushed itself off and balanced on its legs, leaning back a little for support as the systems caught up. With no real reference, the first time walking was slow and stiff, but it managed to figure out how to turn and maneuver around on its own. Its creator watched for a moment, shaking his head slightly at the obviously robotic movements. It needed practice before it was sent off to any entertainment floors.

Movement elsewhere in the room caught its attention, and it eagerly went to investigate. Father hadn’t gotten up, but the animatronic was attracted to something moving in time with it. It copied its actions against a wall, and was staring right back at the animatronic. As it got closer, it appeared as though the other thing crept up as well. Everything was being copied, but reversed in a way. Cautiously it brought a hand up, watching the other reflect the same action until their hands met. The surface was flat. Odd. It expected fingers to match its own. Recognition flashed behind the lenses as it took in the appearance of the body in the mirror.

[It’s Me!]

Father didn’t answer, but it really didn’t need one either. Fascinated, the creature alternated between touching the reflection, and parts of itself. Notably its face, since it couldn’t see this part of itself without help.

The most noticeable part of its face was the coloration. It had a pattern below its eyes, covering the nose and mouth in a solid mass of darker grey, matching its stripes in a way. Its eyes were also darkened, simulating eyeliner in a way, even though the patches of grey were connected. The eye lenses themselves gave it a grey look, nothing too vivid, and matched with the theme. The eyebrows were rather flat and low, giving it a strange look, but after some testing, it found it could move them up and around a bit. It found it could also use its mouth, opening it fairly wide and enjoying the sight of thick looking teeth. They were almost fangs, but dulled to appear less intimidating. It gave him a rather wide smile, certainly bigger than Father’s.

Something triggered at the sight of its own smile. Compelled, it gave off a soft laugh. Deep, and almost a cackle, resonated from the voice box around its neck. It stopped for a moment, lifting its head to look at the origin of the sound before chuckling again and again, testing the different ranges of its vocalizations.

Father laughed in response, looking over to watch his creation laugh itself silly as it stared at its face. The others would play their laugh tracks, but eventually move on to words and phrases pre-programmed in. Even starting with a “hello” to the mirror more often than not. Maybe he gave this one too many different laugh tracks to it to use words, or it just enjoyed the friendly sound.

“Of course, the hyena laughs before he talks!” Father laughed again, making the canine animatronic chuckle in response as it looked back to its creator with a wide grin. It was clearly amused by its range of barking laughter, eagerly playing them over, changing the order, and even adding them together in a strange form of communication. Father just laughed and shook his head, returning to the programming. “You can use words too, but I suppose chuckling like that would be normal for you.”

The creation returned to the mirror, settling on a soft low chuckle to play on occasion if it felt like it was too quiet, or if it was pleased, happy, or interested in something. At least it seemed amused, if not comforted, in the sound. Maybe it would try words later.

With its own face memorized, it took to examining the unfinished parts of its head. It had ears, but the hair appeared to be missing or removed for now, exposing the top of its endoskeleton. They were diamond shaped, wider on the bottom, and set far higher than what it saw on Father. They moved a bit, but it didn’t want to test the full range just yet. They pointed forward, making it seem rather alert, and combined with the soft look in its eyes, it felt rather welcoming. Likely more so when it was finished. The ears were darker on the inside, and folded slightly around the edges. The outside being almost white rather than the creamy grey of its synthetic skin. Would this match it’s hair when it gets attached?

When Father noticed it was staring at its own endoskeleton a bit, he approached the creation. “Don’t worry, I’ll put the rest of you together and let you see the mirror again. I’m almost done.” The hyena grinned widely at this, gesturing back at the mirror and chuckling in agreement. “Ahh, you certainly love to chuckle now, don’t you?” More laughter resonated from the animatronic while the console back at his desk reported a YES. “Alright. We’ll name you Chuckles, the Striped Hyena.” He walked back, happily programming recognition to its name amidst the hyena’s joyous laughter.

As he finished, the creation had wandered back to watch him work. Father seemed finished after a while, though gave a curious look to his now silent watcher. The hyena looked right back at him, breaking into a wide smile. The low rumbling laughter played softly as it opened its mouth.

“Hello. My name is Chuckles.”


End file.
